When Less is More
Psalm 37:16 Better a little that the righteous person has, than the abundance of many wicked.
We live in a world of more-and-more, where governments encourage us to spend up big, because it’s consumer spending that keeps the economy ticking over. For some reason an economy is only considered to be healthy when it’s growing. The status quo, being content with what we have, doesn’t seem to be good enough.
And so we do spend up big. We buy this and that. We travel here and there. We live our lives as though being content with what we have isn’t good enough. And that desire, that greed if I might use a word as harsh as that, often drives some pretty nasty behaviour.
Dishonesty, theft, idolatry, climbing over the top of other people to get what you want. Working longer and harder to pay off the credit card, at the expense of your family and your health. I wonder if any of that sounds just a tad familiar.
Doing what I do, one of the things that I’ve had to learn – and it hasn’t been easy – is that “less is more”. Writing say, a sixty-second script for a radio message, is much, much more difficult than writing a thirty-minute script. And the truth is, that in telling a story, in communicating a powerful truth, you can often achieve more impact, with fewer words.
Less is more. And that same principle is true when it comes to our possessions.
Better a little that the righteous person has, than the abundance of many wicked. (Psalm 37:16)
How much is the consumer culture, the consumer mentality of the 21st Century driving your thinking, your aspirations, your behaviour? What are the things you dream about, the desires of your heart? Be honest with yourself.
Are you driven by the desire to have more? To own more? To travel more? To experience more? Does what other people think about you, about your job, the house you live in, the car you drive – does that influence your aspirations and the way you spend your money?
Those desires and aspirations, frankly, often lead to some pretty bad behaviour. It’s why so many marriages are falling apart. It’s why so many children are alienated from their parents, growing into dysfunctional young adults.
Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. (Psalm 37:16-17)
Some people dedicate their lives to having more, and more, and more. And you know in your heart, that when that’s what motivates you, it’s going to lead you into some bad places.
That’s not God’s plan for you. The things of this world can never, ever replace the riches that He has for you.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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